Settling In and First Classes

Hello again,

So I'm finally starting to settle into life here in England. I know the layout a bit more and my routine is mostly set, even if I haven't quite lived it yet. My classes are all chosen and binders have been purchased. You would not believe how hard it was finding binders and binder paper! Students really seem to prefer notebooks here. The paper that goes into binders is all in notebook form, no loose leaf paper to be found! Lucky for me the book of paper I bought easily pulls out so I am just tearing out sheets as I need it and clipping it all into my binder.

My first class was a Women's Lit class and went quite well. It's from 12-2pm on wednesdays though so I was starving all the way through class. Next time I'll bring my lunch to eat at the break rather than waiting until two. There looks to be a lot of reading for this course. I will most likely have to buy the books I need to read off Amazon but I'll see if I can get away with library copies for the first little bit.

I promised last post that I'd give you guys pictures of my housing so here they are:

Bed and desk. Bed sucks, will need extra blankets, it's

freezing in the nights/mornings.

Sink and wardrobe. I have enough space for 

clothing but no storage space for make up etc.

The kitchen! The stove is confusing, and it'll be cramped when the 

other students arrive. I will probably do pre-cooking Sundays 

and then just heat my dinner meals in the microwave

 the rest of the week. 

I didn't snap photos of the bathroom because it just looks like a bathroom. The water pressure in the shower is AWFUL so showers are a bit of a chore. I might just switch to baths, time will tell. In any case, that's Havenstoke! At least on the inside. It's been too rainy to snap decent photos of the outside. Havenstoke is a bit of a walk from the actual campus and buildings and since I was to be there for two and a half weeks by myself, the accommodation office was nice and allowed me to temporarily move to a room on campus with another student in the room next to me. This way I'm not alone! When I move back, I will call security to walk me back during my evening class/after pub nights. It's not safe to walk alone along the field path at night, especially since the lighting is crap. 

What else is happening? OH! I went for my first fish and chips! It wasn't bad, but too battered/greasy for my tastes. I'll have to try other places to find the good stuff. 

As far as making my own food goes, I'm doing fine. I am making sure I eat veg and fruit. I'm eating salad at dinner, even though I am really not a fan of lettuce. I'm slowly getting staple items and I found a really cheap grocery store that works, so I haven't had to order from Sainsbury's or Tesco yet. When I need things like flour or what have you, I'll order it. There is a fresh fruit/veg/bread market every Wednesday and Saturday 8am-2pm that I want to go to. Apparently its much cheaper to get your fresh stuff there. Fridays some farmers set up in the middle of the shopping streets too. 

I've been spending time with the other international girls on campus most days. We set up a Facebook group to keep in touch and I have the two German girls (Lisa and Ronja) I met on my first day in my Women's Lit course. 

That's all I have for now. Updates will mostly happen on WEDNESDAYS! 

Now, if you'll excuse me I am going to enjoy a cuppa in my (free) University of Chichester mug!